Those Apple Ads

First off, I enjoy all three of the major computer OS flavors, so don’t leave a comment saying that I don’t know what I’m talking about.

It’s pretty amusing how the “I’m A Mac, I’m A PC” ads from Apple have backfired, and I am very surprised where some of the negative comments are originating. Mark Frauenfelder at BoingBoing (usually a pro-Mac venue) posted that he agrees with the pro-Windows crowd that the ads are mean-spirited and people will choose to associate themselves with the uptight PC guy (the really very funny John Hodgman) instead of the laid-back Mac guy (the not-quite-as-funny Justin Long).

The thing that all the haterz don’t get is that Apple isn’t suggesting that you’re to align yourself with either of these two characters; PC and Mac aren’t there to represent the user base of each OS, they’re personifications of the computers and the software on those computers.

It’s easy to understand how the general public could get confused with the anthropomorphization of a computer, and even easier to understand how they couldn’t swallow and digest the decades-long battle between Apple and Microsoft, but the collective whining of tech-savvy bloggers going on about the alleged smugness of the OSX crowd makes me just shake my head.

Related

4 Replies to “Those Apple Ads”

Did you read the article at Slate? If you did you’d realize that the author does indeed realize that the people represent the actual OSes themselves.

In fact, that point bothers him even more: the cute Japaneese girl (representing an exotic digital camera from Japan) will ONLY talk to the Mac “man,” while completely ignoring the PC “man” — the Slate author HAS a PC, and knows from personal experience that the ad greatly exagerates PC incompatability problems; in addition, in the “out of the box” spots ALSO offend the Slate author BECAUSE he recently purchased a (Windows-based) Thinkpad and, just like a Mac, it ran GREAT out-of-the-box.

Perhaps you should actually read (and comprehend) the articles before you get your underclothes in a smug little knot.

And it’s OBVIOUS you don’t know what you’re talking about, or those cheap this-issue-was-fixed-with-the-release-of-XP shots would have irritated you as much as they do ALL regular Windows users.

It’s not as though Apple can’t make the TRUTHFUL claim that their OS is generally more secure (the virus commercial, being accurate, was actually funny) . . . or that Apple’s expose brings users features that won’t been seen on Windows until Vista . . .

The point of the Slate article was that Apple’s ads just seemed aimed at the smug faithful; that’s fine if they’re happy with their contracting market share, be we all know they’re not.

OK, I read it, and I still don’t think that the critics (well, specifically the Slate critic) “get it”… He clearly states he associates the actor cast as a Mac to represent the stereotypical Mac-using hipster (and conversely, associates all Window users as nerds?). I stand by my original comments.

And, I do know what I’m doing when it comes to OS geekery… I own three Macs, two PCs, and I build my own boxes. I work for a telecom provider as a web application developer and an email administrator. We run SUSE 10 on X86 and are transitioning to Sun X4200’s later this year. The only people who would get their knickers twisted about Apple “insulting” XP are people who think it really matters if one company diss’es another’s product. Certain OS’es are good at some things and certain OS’es have their faults, too; my original post concerns the level of misplaced emotion that is being dealt out by people who should know better.

Once again, the point of the ads, ostensibly, is to CONVINCE WINDOWS USERS TO SWITCH. By lying to users, you make them VERY distrustful of your brand. Apple exagerates its advantages to the point of LYING.

The article was evaluating the effectiveness of the ad AS AN AD. As an ad, its smugness and misinformation turn the typical Windows user off. Perhaps that’s why there is so much hue and cry about the ads.

You keep saying that we should know better. What we’ve been saying all along is that the people making the AD should know better. I’m sure on some level, we’re both right.